I'm sorry I had a bad day again
by WIWJ
Summary: Based on the fuel song "Bad day" post series Em takes things into her own hands. I needed sweet little story..


A/N: _For Joseph… where ever you may find him.. Kung Pao Chicken Because you're my best friend.. I miss you._

Here is my Emily helps out story. Anytime after Camalot is no more.

* * *

The door slams, my brother winces and I watch as my mother's boyfriend backs away from the hallway like it's on fire and threatening to spread. I knew that was going to happen. I hate him because he didn't.

"Well.." He looks at us, camped out on the couch in our disheveled living room. "Who wants take out?"

No one. I want to shout back. Unless you're what's going to get taken out.

"I could go for tacos." Charlie shrugs. I shoot him a dirty look. "What? We gotta eat!"

"Emily, I'm really sorry." He says honestly. "I wish I could help, but I think she just needs some time right now."

Time is not what my mother needs. A swift kick in the ass is what she needs.

"Or maybe Chinese Chicken?" Charlie hums beside me and I sit up so quickly I half expect my spine to shot out the top of my neck.

"_That's it_." I whisper to myself.

"Alright then." My brother mutters moving the magazines away from his feet to get back up again. If I hadn't just had an epiphany I might have reminded him that he shouldn't have just swept them off of the couch in order to sit there in the first place. But I have just had an epiphany. "Chinese Chicken it is."

I vault over the coffee table and beat him to the phone, squinting and trying to remember the number by memory until I realize that all I have to do is hit and hold button number one. Even after all this time.

"Hey!" Charlie growls. "Slow down geez I'd a let you call! I'm not sure what I want yet, God."

I ignore him as the phone rings, and rings and rings.

No answering machine. Which means one of two things, it's off the hook, or he's looking at the caller id and trying not to pick it up. Either way he's there.

I toss the phone at my brother who grunts when it hits him and grab my purse and mom's keys.

"Hey where you going? I didn't know we were doing carry out that changes everything."

"I'm not hungry!" I snap back.

"Then where are you going?"

"To get help." I shout as the door swings closed behind me.

* * *

What if he moved? The though of course does not occur to me until I'm half way to his house. That would have been the third reason that his phone rang and rang. It's not his phone anymore. I wonder for a second if his cell phone number would have been one that I painfully switched over when I got my new phone. I can't imagine me deleting it. Me making the decision:_No he is no longer a relevant person for me to need to contact_. But I don't remember transferring the number either. You'd have thought that I would have taken a moment and gone '_ah Uncle B! They guy that saved my ass..' _Multiple times. The guy that looked out for my mom's ass…the guy that searched for my parents in a blackout and hauled my dad's fat ass to mercy before he died too.. In reality, Maurice Boscorelli is indirectly responsible for three fourths of my family still being on Earth today.

So you'd think I'd remember putting his number in my phone.

Maybe I don't remember because it was 'before.'

Before Mom started talking about moving in with her boyfriend, before Dad and Caroline got married and _pregnant. _

Before mom's latest crisis. Maybe it was before all this Bosco-less shit in our lives happened and putting his number in my phone seemed as natural as putting in Mom's.

By the time I pull over to check I'm mad at him for not being there for all that shit. God knows Mom would have been a whole lot easier to deal with if he had been. Charlie too probably. Hell maybe even the boyfriend would have been more tolerable.

I rummage through my purse until I have it in my hands. Banner, Beth, Booker. Bosco.. I actually sigh in relief when I see it. I hit the button and wait.

"'ello."

"Did you move?" I shout without any pretense.

"What?"

"Did you move?" I slow down each word like he's dumb.

"Who the hell is this?" He hisses.

"God Damn it Bosco!" I whine. The silence hits my ears like sirens.

"Faith..?" It's a whisper. He knows it's not her, yet he doesn't. I wait. "Emmy?"

"Hi. Yes. It's Emily." I relent. "Did you move?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Is your mom-? Emily did something happen to your mom!" The alarm in his voice is like a bucket of water. It washes away all the anger I suddenly felt for him. "Emily!"

"Nah.. She's well she's still alive and all.." My voice falters a little. "Did you move?"

"Where are you?" He asks. I look up at the street beside me and rattle off my location. "Stay there."

I put my phone away and drop my head back against mom's seat. Tears start to build and for the first time since this whole stupid mess started I let them fall. Bosco's coming. He'll fix it. I wipe my face with the back of my hand as a squad car squeals to a stop behind me and a very worried looking off duty cop jumps out of the passanger seat and makes his way to my window. I roll it down and look at him.

"Em?" I nod back. I know what he's asking. He waves off the RMP and the other guy waves as he pulls away. "Move over." I slide across the seat and he opens the door to Mom's car and looks at me again. He puts his hands on the wheel in an attempt to calm himself. "What happened?"

"She had a bad day." I whisper, he studies me for a minute an I know he knows.

"When?" He asks me.

"Two weeks ago." I sniff. He tenses his jaw and looks out the window by my head.

"K." He takes a deep breath. "Okay."

"Charlie wants Chinese chicken." I whisper stupidly. "John Miller's there."

He winces.

"Dad and Caroline are having a baby." I announce like it's instructions for what he needs to do next. His eyes look at me like I've said Mr. Met was expecting and he almost laughs but he can't. Cause Mom had a bad day.

He starts driving mom's car back towards our apartment. He doesn't have to ask if we moved and it makes me feel guilty.

"Did you move?" I ask again. He looks at me again and I know he did.

"Did you go to my old place?" He asks gently.

"No." I swallow hard and wipe my nose. "I was on my way there, but then I figured you'd have moved."

"I was still at the station." He explains.

"But you moved." It's a statement now. I know he did. He gives me a quick nod.

"I'm sorry Bosco." I breathe out the word so that I don't start to cry and he nods at the road, not turning to look. "and I should have called sooner.. I.."

"'s okay.."

I'm glad he stops me because I don't want to tell him that I didn't call because I didn't remember to. That I didn't think of him at all until Charlie said Chinese Chicken and suddenly I remembered every time that Bosco'd shown up at our door with pizza for us and a bag of Chinese for him and mom.

He'd drop a movie on the table and a kiss on the top of my head. I'd make some comment and he'd sigh and say 'take an easy on her Emmy she had a bad day yesterday.'

I've seen one of my Mom's bad days. I was there in that bank. So was Bosco, he'd come to help her, just like he always did when she had bad days.

He pulls up in front of our building waiting impatiently for someone to move there car and flashing his badge at the guy who looked like he might make a play for the spot. The guy flipped him off but kept driving. Once upon a time my Uncle B woulda run him down and given him a hard time for disrespecting an officer of the law, but not now. Mom needs him. Hell, maybe not anymore at all. I'm sad that I don't know the answer.

For a minute he looks lost in front of our building, devoid of Chinese Chicken and a movie, after all this time. I put my hand in his and he looks at me his face becoming more confident as he tugged me up the stairs keying our security door like he'd just done it yesterday and not even sighing in relief that it was still the same when the door buzzed open. He knew it would be, and that's why he's here.

He doesn't knock or wait for me to open the door he just lets it swing from his hand and moves in, stripping off his black leather jacket and going to toss it on the chair until he see's the shape of our living room. He makes a face at my mother's apparent unkemptness and swings back around to look at me. I roll my eyes and take his jacket.

"Real bad day." I mutter. Charlie looks up at him in awe.

"Uncle B!" My mom's partner smiles distractedly at him before grabbing a carton of their delivery off of the table and opening it.

"Hey Chuck." He says softly giving Miller the same vacant look and a nod. "Lieutenant."

I don't think Miller knows who it is at first. The 'Uncle' thing threw him, he watches Bosco look down the hallway before grabbing two plastic forks and moving towards the bedroom.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Miller warned softly.

"You're not me." Confident Bosco is what my mom needs. A swift kick in the ass followed by Chinese Chicken. Charlie turns off the TV and watches the hallway knowing it'll be more dramatic. He opens the door as he knocks on it.

"What are you doing?" She says quickly. I find it funny that she doesn't add a 'here' she knows what he's doing here.

"How long you been sitting around in your bathrobe? It looks like a crime scene out there."

"Bosco…" She whines. I hear him set down the food. The bed creaks as he joins her on it.

"What happened to your head?" I can hear her sharp intake of breath. I know he's touching the nasty bruise near the bandage.

"Nothin it's okay." She sniffs.

"Any thing else _'okay_' that I should know about?" It's the rough style mixed with the gentle tone that lets Bosco help her through bad days.

"Couple of bruised ribs." She confesses her voice low.

"Faith.."

"I'm okay." She lies.

"Sure, that's why your house looks like this, your still in your bathrobe." He teases harshly. "Miller and Charlie look like they're in a landmine and Emily's all teary cause she didn't know I moved.."

"You moved?" My mother sounds devastated.

"Faith.." I can imagine how they are now cause I've seen it a hundred times, he's in her face. Right in her face, not giving her the chance to run or lie or do anything but be honest with him.

I hear her break and then I know. It's not just gonna be him making her laugh over Chicken until she falls asleep on his shoulder. Not this time. (Man that used to piss Dad off.) I know that this isn't the worst bad day my mom has ever had and I know that this isn't' the first time that she's lost it and Bosco has been there to let her. It's just the first time in a long time. The first time that I've been with in ear shot. I can hear her sniffing, her breath catching in an attempt not to cry.

"Shhh.." He tells her softly.

"I don't want to talk about it.." She whimpers.

"Okay." He sooths. "I'm not gonna make ya."

"Boz.." She chokes on the words. "You moved?"

"I'm still here." He tells her, the tough guy falling away just enough that he doesn't sound irritated, just defeated. I hear her headboard creek and I imagine him leaning back against it. "I'm always gonna be here."

Her tears are muffled either from her arms or his. I hope it's his.

"Boz.." She sniffs and he shushes her again. "I had a really bad day."

…..


End file.
